This was an article written by Robert and Ann Wlodarski. Ghost hunters for years. Written in 2002 for the magazine Weird Texas, a limited edition exclusive Magazine.
Grave concerns
Although we are primarily purveyors of ghost stories, our backgrounds include archeology, history, behavioral psychology, and art therapy. We have conducted numerous ghost investigations in a continuing effort to better understand the unseen world. While completing ten books on the paranormal, including the latest. Dinner and Spirits A Guide to America’s Most Haunted Restaurants, Taverns and Inns, and A Texas Guide to Haunted Restaurants, Taverns and Inns. We have researched over 1000 establishments throughout the United States and interviewed countless individuals. When we encounter an unusual story, we like to share it. Which brings us to the L & J cafe in El Paso TX.
El Paso. Has quite a history. During 1581, the Rodriguez CHAMUSCADO expedition reached the area and in 1598, Don Juan ONATE colonized it, officially naming it El Paso del Norte. In 1827, Juan Maria. Ponce de Leon. Established a hacienda in what is now downtown El Paso. By 1849,, the first US Army post, was established to protect the settlers in the indest part of the Texas Territory for marauding Apaches and Comanches. From 1858 to 1859,, El Paso served as a major stopover point for the Butterfield Overland Mail coach. In 1873,, El Paso officially became a US City.
During 1881,, the Southern Pacific Railroad established a line through El Paso, bringing tourists and slow growth to the desert community.
During the latter part of the 1800s, the city became a stomping ground for gunfighters, gamblers, cattlemen, famous marshals and the Texas Rangers, who tried to keep peace in a town filled with brothels and bars. In 1916,, General Blackjack Pershing began his legendary hunt for the famed outlaw Pancho Villa from this city. Today, the past sometimes bleeds through into the present landscape. One place in particular, the L and J cafe, also known locally as the Old place by the graveyard., seems to bring out the dead more than most.
Alamo Ghost Stories
The Concordian cemetery officially dates back to 1881, with some burials taking place as far back as the 1850s. It is estimated that about 65,000 bodies are interned within the 54 acre cemetery, which was once part of the Hugh and Juana Stevenson Hacienda. Stevenson, who came from Missouri, married Dona Juana ASCARATE, a local who subsequently died in 1856 and became the first person buried in the cemetery.
50 feet from the Old Concordian Cemetery, three generations of the Flores and Doran families have operated a cafe and bar within a former residence built in 1905. The Spanish building is on a corner lot outside the main flow of El Paso’s citizenry. It is a recognizable reddish stucco, one story building, looking none the worse for the wear after 75 years of use as a restaurant and bar. L&J Cafe signs stand proudly in view, in full view, welcoming guests as they drive by. There have been few changes in the atmosphere laden building since it opened in 1927, which is part of the enduring charm. Not to mention sharing the center stage with the adjacent cemetery.
In 1927,, Antonio O Flores quit a fast food joint open his own restaurant. Flores founded his spot in a rather unusual setting, across the street from the 1850s landmark, the Concordia Cemetery. He opened for business on. September 19th, 1927, when Prohibition was in full swing. His unnamed watering hole, part Speakeasy, part legal eatery and part residence, served homebrew and contraband liquor from across the border. After Prohibition, Antonio and his wife Juanita, formerly named the establishment Tony’s Place and successfully ran it while raising their children.
Over the years, the bar and cafe serviced soldiers from Fort Bliss, as well as locals, who came to enjoy home cooked food and just kick back and relax. In 1968, after forty one years of operating as Tony’s place, the business passed to Lillia Flores Duran and her husband John G Duran. The second generation was now in charge of the newly named L&J. In 1988, a third generation family member, Leo A Duran took over the business and continues to run it today with his wife Francis, maintaining the family tradition of friendly service, good food, and a place to forget your troubles.
Rarely is there a time when a stranger drops into L & J that the Old Concordian cemetery goes unnoticed. You can rest inside for a brief time, while 50 feet away on the other side of the Stevens street, you can face those who are resting for eternity. Dinner and spirits!
Since history and haunting go hand in hand, the set up is now complete. The location of L & J across from the Concordia Cemetery, in a town like El Paso, which refuses to give up its past, is a perfect place for spirits to gather, and gather they do, according to locals.
Over the years, staff and guests at L & J have reported hearing wailing sounds and seeing spectral lights come from the cemetery. Once heard, the wailing sound is never forgotten. Legend may shed some light on the Phantom Lady and her woeful cries. Some say that as a woman who died in childbirth and was unintentionally interred while still alive. Her desperate cries ignore, ignored in life, now continue from beyond the grave and add to the Wailing Wrath a spectral wagon carrying a casket, followed by a spectral woman in black, and you have fodder for endless ghost stories. But that’s not all. Many swear the restless spirits of gunfighter John Wesley Hardin, called the Dark Angel of Texas, roams the ghostly graveyard. With other lesser known spirits, Hardin was buried in the cemetery on August 19th, 1895. He is gone, but certainly not forgotten.
Current owner and 3rd generation family member Leo Duran, recalled being awakened in the night by the sound of a woman wailing from across the street. Fearing that a girl was being raped, he called the police, grabbed his gun, and ran across the street to the cemetery. The horrible moaning sounds continued as the police arrived. The second they opened the gate to enter, the moaning ceased. A thorough search of the area yielded nothing.
A former employee. Was closing the bar late one night. She walked over to the anteroom between the office and the restaurant and punched out. Men, many made her way over. She then made her way over to the order window, waiting for the Durans to take care of their personal business. She stopped dead in her tracks. A shadowy figure was moving along the wall, and she had a distinct feeling that someone was there. And she felt as though she was being watched. As she proceeded to cautiously as she proceeded cautiously into the darkened dining room area, she could see a man standing in the shadows. Quickly, she turned on a nearby light switch. For a brief moment, she watched as the man glanced approvingly around the room, as though taking pride in what he saw. The face looked familiar to her, but before she could move towards the man, he disappeared.
More startled than shocked, she stood motionless until the Durans walked in. She couldn’t wait to tell them what had just happened. As she was talking to the owner and his wife, she happened to glance at the menu resting on the table. There on the back, was the face of the man she had just witnessed. She pointed to the face on the menu as Duran looked on in amazement. It was none other than Duran’s grandfather, Antonio Flores, who had long since passed away.
Copyright © 2026 Austin Ghost Tours ®
